Dungeons and Dragons, "Some Ideas for Player Characters"

Standard Introduction

            I have been writing about Dungeons and Dragons semi-regularly this year and in the course of writing those I found a 30-day blog challenge.  As I have done those a couple times before it seemed remiss not to jump on this one.

            If you want here is a link to my 30-day challenge on Disney Movies, here is a link to my 30-day challenge on Video Games, and here is a comically out of date 30-day challenge on Movies (it is old and the writing is rubbish).

Day 10- Ideas for Future Characters

            About 2 months ago, I joined a group at my local (25 miles away) game shop.  It was the first time I was to play 5^th edition and I wanted to try out a variety of different characters (like you do) and so I stuck together ideas as they came.  Coupling what I figured would be non-traditional pairings seemed a good place to start.  Here are the 4 I came up with.  Ultimately, I decided on the Wizard.

            If you would like to share some of your own unused character ideas, do so in the comments, maybe use this format (maybe get it to catch on, I like its simplicity) and try and keep to a shorter length, you don’t want people to “tldr” your stuff.

Name: Raymond Kline

Class: Fighter (Arcane)

Race: Human

Background: Sage

History: I am good at two things, studying and fencing.  I have been working on ways to couple them, but I am hardly the strongest spellcaster.  At current I am working as a guard for the college I have been studying at since I was 12.  My parents live nearby and sell the school cabbages from time to time; they are very proud of me.

Goals: I need field experience as part of getting my degree, while strict academia is good enough to get a job as a court wizard I am not good enough at magic for that, and I want to be an officer in any military I might serve in, for a commission I need mercenary work.

  

Name: Mr. Sugar

Class: Monk

Race: Human

Background: Charlatan

History: In a kinky little alley in crooked little town there is a shifty looking building full of dastardly young fools.  I grew up in the apartment across the street from that place, we lived above a kung fu dojo called “Way of the Backhand” or maybe it was the “Way of the Hand” and I just always went in thru the back entrance and the sign was poorly put together?  Whichever.

I studded there, I studied the way to punch and stab people in the flashiest ways possible, and when I wasn’t doing that I would sneak into the shifty looking building and peep in on the pole dancers.

Goals: I prefer to play things fast and loose.  Or close to the chest.  Taken it day by day.  And, other clichés that people use to make it sound like they are being cryptic when in reality they have no idea what they are doing with their life and are hanging by the tips of their fingers over a void of directionless chaos that has been trying to swallow them whole their entire life.

I think I might have over shared just then.  Try not to hold that against me.

This was apparently art for a DnD book that didn't get picked up.

Name: Malcolm Fieldwalker

Class: Ranger

Race: Half-Elf

Background: Noble

History: My father is Count Malachite of the small city state, Hasenburg.  He met my mother, Moonlight a revered healer and ranger when she pulled his near dead body out of a haunted castle and breathed him back to life.

When I turned 20 a dread emperor came knocking at the Hasenburg city gate and told my father that I was to get married to the emperor’s niece, it was all part of some elaborate scheme to get a political foothold with my mother’s people.  My dad decided my mom and I should run, he was executed and the emperor sacked my hometown.

Goals: I’m now all grown up and I am going to use the political savvy my father taught me when I was a kid, and all the archery my mom taught me when I was an angry adolescent, to bring down the guy who killed my old man.  It actually shouldn’t be too hard; I think he is in his 60’s now.  Fuck’em.

  

MY wizard was not this ripped.  But I don't think Kev Walker has ever drawn a wizard that wasn't ripped.
That is fine, he's got a cool style.

Name: Mercer

Class: Wizard (Transmutation)

Race: Human

Background: Hermit

History: My mother was murdered by a highwayman when I was younger.  All he stole was a box of copper coins we had under a bed.  Ever had to bury your own mother with the shovel you had to pull free from her skull?  It is traumatizing to say the least.  I suppose most scholarly inclined people would be more apt to go into necromancy from such an experience, trying in vain to pull back the life of the loved one they lost.  I suppose I am many degrees stranger than that.

Goals: I am curious about the nature of value.  Our world is full of things.  Knick knacks, bric-a-brac, and keepsakes that all have some degree of value to various people at different rates.  I know my mother was worth more than a box of coins, but to the person who murdered her she wasn’t worth stealing the shovel too.  I want to find out what worth means, and find something that is worth more than anything else.

Coming Tomorrow

            Tomorrow I am going to talk about my favorite NPC.

            Favorite NPC that isn’t a god anyway, I already talked about Vecna’s whole deal.

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